robn311

Hi all. I don't know a thing about vintage bikes, but I am looking to get a road/touring bike, and a local consignment shop has a 1983 Fuji America for $250. It seems like it is in pretty good shape, only has a few minor scratches. I'll need to throw some new tires on it and the owner said it may need a new shift cable. Question is, is this anywhere near a decent price? Or would I be getting totally shafted? From what I've read, the early 80s America series were great touring bikes.

Just fyi, I'm new to cycling. I have a comfort hybrid that I use for commuting and bike path riding that I really like, but want more of a road or touring style bike that is a little lighter as a 2nd bike.

robn311

Oh, and here is the Craigslist ad for the bike:

https://albany.craigslist.org/bik/2569006525.html

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

vettefrc2000

Great Sport Touring bikes.

Not a bad price for a great example.

Gratuitous pictures of my "Americas"

1976









1980











1984

khatfull

The Fuji America is a fine, and IMHO, one of the best sport tourers ever to come out of Japan. If that bike has all the original equipment in good condition (especially the Fujita Professional saddle) and all it needs is tires and a cable (although I'd replace all of them) I'd be quite happy with that price. The paint is generally very good and cleans up very well. If you need touchup paint the Patriot Blue Dupli-color from a 2001 Chrysler Town and Country works VERY well for the dark blue.

Most of us who are Fuji collectors/aficionados try to have an America in the collection. Here's mine:

vettefrc2000

nice!

Zermatt7

Some one is showing off their Fujis & I dont blame them.
$250 plus repairs might be a little hight & it might not.
How does it fit & do you like the color ?
Compare it $ wise to a 2011 Fuji Newest 1.0

good luck !

robatsu

On the DC CL, that would have lasted about 1 hour at $250, assuming just the repairs you noted.

These are really fine bikes.

leecycle

Khatfull: I know that your America is a 1980 model, but do you think that this blue is a good match for the metallic blue used on 70s Fujis? I have a 1975 Finest (https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ji-Finest-1975) that has lost alot of the paint from the seat lug and would like to match it. By the way, you have gorgeous Fujis.

robn311

UPDATE: Ok, so I went and looked at the bike today. It seems to fit me quite nicely. Looks like it has original parts in pretty good shape, frame looks pretty good with only a few minor dings. I would need to replace tires and cables. Also, that brown rubbery part by the handlebars/brakes is dried out and cracked on this bike and it could use some new grip tape. Does this change anyone's opinion on whether or not it might be worth the $250? Again, I want to be able to do some medium-length rides on this bad boy (20-50 miles) and don't mind having to invest a little bit extra to get some work done and get it in better shape. Being on a fairly tight budget, my idea was to get a pretty decent bike and then work on it little by little.

Thanks a bunch for the advice!

khatfull

Let's see:

New bar tape: $10
New Cane Creek brown hoods: $12 or so.
Tires: fine, CST, about $10 each...better, Panaracer Pasela, about $20 each.
Cables: 4 x $2 for inner wires, about $5-10 for housings

Your parts cost is somewhere around $60-$80 maybe?

So if you can do the work yourself you're probably ok, if not you're approaching the point where I'd wonder (as much as I like a Fuji America).

I assume by "dings" you mean just paint flaws and not actual dents in the tubes?

khatfull

I think the other blues used in the 70s are quite a bit lighter. Might be a good match for the blue versions of the Early Finests and maybe a couple others but for bikes like the S-10S and such probably not. It would work for the bikes listed in the catalogs as being "Rainbow Blue".

leecycle

+1
If you can do the work yourself, you're way ahead of the curve. Replacing tires, cables, bar tape is pretty easy, so that shouldn't stop you from considering the bike. When buying a used bike, most of the time, you will have to do the tires and or tubes and cables. Maybe you can negotiate on the price. In any case, if the dings are only scratches, then I still think its a quality bike at a reasonable price, rather than a bargain. Remember that $250 spent on a new bike won't get you anywhere near the quality of that Fuji.

leecycle

Thanks for the clarification Khatfull. My 1975 Finest is indeed listed as "Rainbow Blue", so it should be a good match!

flash2070

The bike is really nice, but you have to negotiate a more "reasonable" price. I wold offer $150.00 and move from there. Point out what it would need, and mention that the bike is just collecting dust, and deteriorating. :-) I can tell you this. I would not leave that place without that bike. Probably by the time that you decide to move forward somene has already eaten your lunch! :-) Go get it. It is a lovely bike. If you don't ask, the answer will always be no! It has a nice Brooks saddle that alone is worth 60 to 80 dls. Even at 200 is a very nice deal. Thanks!

Flash

robatsu

Really, it sounds like the only thing it absolutely needs is new tires and 1 cable. That is pretty minimal for a 30 year old bike, you almost always expect this sort of thing. The housings, unless they are somehow deteriorated inside, may look bad on the outside but are probably still functional, albeit maybe not as low friction as more modern housings/cables. The brake hoods are deteriorating, but just ride them as they are for a bit or strip them off and ride without, you'll see old bikes ridden this way, replace that stuff at your leisure.

Same goes for the bar tape, ride it as is for a while, then pop for some new handlebar wrap and do it yourself on a weekend afternoon project. Tons of info on the web about how to do this and different options (cloth, cork, leather, etc). You can spend just a little bit or a whole lot or somewhere inbetween.

One nice thing is that the wheels have sealed cartridge bearing hubs, so this end of things is likely in very good shape. On a bike that old, I'd probably want to repack the bottom bracket fairly soon although it wouldn't keep me from riding it for a while if there weren't weird noises or friction emanating from that.

This is a really good, if not perfect, bike for the type of riding you describe - longish day trips. Sporty and pretty light, yet comfortable and stable. My only, really my only, gripe about this bike was that fitting tires larger than 28mm w/a fender was a very dicey proposition.

Another good thing about it is that unlike virtually all touring, recreational type bikes from that era, it has 700c wheels rather than 27" wheels so a much wider range of tire options are open to you. And like most of the componentry on the bike, they are very nice wheels.